China's film industry booms, coproductions grow

China's film industry has made much progress in the past five years. Xu Fan reports.

China, the world's second-largest film market after the United States, has seen both a rise in collaboration with the industry in other countries and stable development at home.

According to Tong Gang, vice-minister of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, China has seen an average year-on-year growth of up to 30.35 percent at the box office in the past five years.

The box office has grown from 17.1 billion yuan ($2.59 billion) in 2012 to 49.2 billion yuan in 2016. The country's movie industry has seen stable development.

Annual theater visits have risen from 466 million in 2012 to 1.37 billion in 2016. And screens in urban areas have increased from 13,118 in 2012 to 41,179 in 2016. The rapid construction has made China one of the most alluring film markets in the world.

Another change is taking place, with a rise in coproductions with other countries.